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posted by chromas on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:09AM   Printer-friendly
from the when-the-second-meets-the-first dept.

Trump says public availability of 3D-printed guns 'doesn't seem to make much sense'

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is "looking into" the availability of plans for the 3D printing of guns, writing on Twitter that he had already been in touch with the NRA on the issue.

"I am looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public. Already spoke to NRA, doesn't seem to make much sense!" the president wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning.

After a years-long legal battle, Defense Distributed, a Texas-based group, has announced plans to release instructions on Wednesday for guns that can be created by a 3-D printer, including a handgun and parts for a semi-automatic assault rifle. Although plans were not supposed to be available until Wednesday, instructions have already begun to appear online for download, CNN reported Tuesday.

From Defense Distributed's still barebones website:

August 1, 2018

Defense Distributed relaunches DEFCAD after reaching a settlement agreement with the US Department of State, concluding a multi-year federal lawsuit. The age of the downloadable gun formally begins.

The DEFCAD website is now up (as of July 31) but files supposedly can't be downloaded until August 1.

Even our resident Trump supporters/enthusiasts can bash him for even thinking about encroaching on our digital gun liberties.

Also at The Hill.

"U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday afternoon that bars Cody Wilson from sharing 3-D gun print files online August 1.

The order provides time for Democrats to continue pressing President Trump to intervene and prohibit future publication of files all together."

Previously: Landmark Legal Shift for 3D-Printed Guns

Related: The $1,200 Machine That Lets Anyone Make a Metal Gun at Home
Japanese Gun Printer Goes to Jail
Suspected 3D-Printed Gun Parts and Plastic Knuckles Seized in Australia
FedEx Refuses to Ship Defense Distributed's Ghost Gunner CNC Mill
Man Who Used CNC Mill to Manufacture AR-15 "Lowers" Sentenced to 41 Months
Ghost Gunner Software Update Allows the Milling of an M1911 Handgun


Original Submission

Related Stories

The $1,200 Machine That Lets Anyone Make a Metal Gun at Home 59 comments

When Cody Wilson revealed the world’s first fully 3-D printed gun last year, he showed that the “maker” movement has enabled anyone to create a working, lethal firearm with a click in the privacy of his or her garage. Now he’s moved on to a new form of digital DIY gunsmithing. And this time the results aren’t made of plastic.

Wilson’s latest radically libertarian project is a PC-connected milling machine he calls the Ghost Gunner. Like any computer-numerically-controlled (or CNC) mill, the one-foot-cubed black box uses a drill bit mounted on a head that moves in three dimensions to automatically carve digitally-modeled shapes into polymer, wood or aluminum. But this CNC mill, sold by Wilson’s organization known as Defense Distributed for $1,200, is designed to create one object in particular: the component of an AR-15 rifle known as its lower receiver.

That simple chunk of metal has become the epicenter of a gun control firestorm. A lower receiver is the body of the gun that connects its stock, barrel, magazine and other parts. As such, it’s also the rifle’s most regulated element. Mill your own lower receiver at home, however, and you can order the rest of the parts from online gun shops, creating a semi-automatic weapon with no serial number, obtained with no background check, no waiting period or other regulatory hurdles.
http://www.wired.com/2014/10/cody-wilson-ghost-gunner/

Japanese Gun Printer Goes to Jail 34 comments

3ders.org has an article on the conclusion of a trial in Japan of a man for making a 3D printed gun.

Earlier today, a verdict was reached in the infamous 3D printed gun trial that was being held in the Yokohama District Court in Tokyo, Japan. Presiding Judge Koji Inaba found the 28-year-old Yoshitomo Imura, a former teacher at a local college, guilty of violating laws controlling firearms and swords. For printing at least two workable guns using a 3D printer, Imura was sentenced to two years in prison.

Since Imura's arrest in May, a number of Japanese distributors of 3D printing technology have organized a '3D printer Promotion Council' to both educate people about the possibilities of this technology, but also to warn consumers of its dangers. They are currently looking into possibilities to avoid such events in the future, including better cooperation between the industry and the government and a blacklist of design data.

Suspected 3D-Printed Gun Parts and Plastic Knuckles Seized in Australia 47 comments

Police in Australia have seized 3D-printed weapons after a raid in a suburb of Gold Coast City, Queensland. The haul included plastic knuckle dusters and what are suspected to be printed gun parts. If confirmed, the state's police force has said it would be the first time it had discovered 3D-printed firearm components in a home.

"We've obviously got to get it through our ballistic experts but we can identify most if not all of the major components of a weapon," detective inspector Scott Knowles of Queensland Police Service told ABC News following the arrest of a 28-year-old suspect in Mudgeeraba. He added that the owner of the printer thought to have been involved had given the machine to the suspect to be calibrated, and was not aware that it was going to be misused.

Last year, Australia's Senate held an inquiry into gun-related violence, during which there were calls for the country's laws to be updated to take account of new technologies. However, DI Knowles noted that Queensland's current laws were already adequate to prosecute a case if ballistics experts confirmed the 3D-printed parts involved were designed for use in firearms. "With weapons and parts manufactured this way still being classified as a firearm under current legislation, people can also see themselves before the courts for manufacturing and possessing these items" he said.

In 2013, the New South Wales police force released videos warning of the dangers of 3D-printed guns and depicting an exploding Liberator, while acknowledging that it is impossible to stop the proliferation of gun CAD files. Last year, Yoshitomo Imura was arrested in Japan and sentenced to two years of prison after posting a video showing himself firing a 3D-printed revolver of his own design.

FedEx Refuses to Ship Defense Distributed's Ghost Gunner CNC Mill 43 comments

FedEx is refusing to ship Texas nonprofit Defense Distributed's computer controlled mill, the Ghost Gunner. The $1,500 tool can carve aluminum objects from digital designs, including AR-15 lower receivers from scratch or more quickly from legally obtainable "80 percent lowers".

When the machine was revealed last October, Defense Distributed's pre-orders sold out in 36 hours. But now FedEx tells WIRED it's too wary of the legal issues around homemade gunsmithing to ship the machine to customers. "This device is capable of manufacturing firearms, and potentially by private individuals," FedEx spokesperson Scott Fiedler wrote in a statement. "We are uncertain at this time whether this device is a regulated commodity by local, state or federal governments. As such, to ensure we comply with the applicable law and regulations, FedEx declined to ship this device until we know more about how it will be regulated."

But buying, selling, or using the Ghost Gunner isn't illegal, nor is owning an AR-15 without a serial number, says Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA and the author of Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America. "This is not that problematic," he says. "Federal law does not prohibit individuals from making their own firearms at home, and that includes AR-15s."

Defense Distributed's founder Cody Wilson argues that rather than a legal ambiguity, FedEx is instead facing up to the political gray area of enabling the sale of new, easily accessible tools that can make anything-including deadly weapons. "They're acting like this is legal when in fact it's the expression of a political preference," says Wilson. "The artifact that they're shipping is a CNC mill. There's nothing about it that is specifically related to firearms except the hocus pocus of the marketing." Wilson, whose radically libertarian group has pursued projects ranging from 3-D printed guns to untraceable cryptocurrency, says he chose to ship his Ghost Gunner machines with FedEx specifically because the company has a special NRA firearm industry membership. But when he told a local FedEx representative what he'd be shipping, he says the sales rep responded that he'd need to check with a superior. "This is no big deal, right? It's just a mill," Wilson says he told his FedEx contact. "You guys ship guns. You've shipped 3-D printers and mills, right? You'll ship a drill press, right? Same difference."

Man Who Used CNC Mill to Manufacture AR-15 "Lowers" Sentenced to 41 Months 76 comments

It's still illegal to manufacture firearms for others without a license.

A Sacramento, California man was sentenced Thursday to over three years in prison for unlawful manufacture of a firearm and one count of dealing firearms.

Last year, Daniel Crownshield, pleaded guilty to those counts in exchange for federal prosecutors dropping other charges. According to investigators, Crowninshield, known online as "Dr. Death," would sell unfinished AR-15 lower receivers, which customers would then pay for him to transform into fully machined lower receivers using a computer numerically controlled (CNC) mill. (In October 2014, Cody Wilson, of Austin, Texas, who has pioneered 3D-printed guns, began selling a CNC mill called "Ghost Gunner," designed to work specifically on the AR-15 lower.)

"In order to create the pretext that the individual in such a scenario was building his or her own firearm, the skilled machinist would often have the individual press a button or put his or her hands on a piece of machinery so that the individual could claim that the individual, rather than the machinist, made the firearm," the government claimed in its April 14 plea agreement.

So, if he taught a class in how to do it would he also then be a criminal?


Original Submission

Ghost Gunner Software Update Allows the Milling of an M1911 Handgun 91 comments

The Ghost Gunner has been updated to allow the CNC milling of a much more popular and accessible form of firearm: a handgun:

For the past five years, Cody Wilson has applied every possible advance in digital manufacturing technology to the mission of undermining government attempts at gun control. First he created the world's first 3-D printed gun, a deadly plastic weapon anyone could print at home with a download and a few clicks. Then he started selling a computer-controlled milling machine designed to let anyone automatically carve out the body of an untraceable AR-15 from a semifinished chunk of aluminum, upgrading his provocations from plastic to metal. Now his latest advance in home firearm fabrication allows anyone to make an object designed to defy the most basic essence of gun control: A concealable, untraceable, and entirely unregulated metal handgun.

On Sunday, Wilson's gun rights advocacy group, Defense Distributed, announced a new release of software for his computer-controlled milling machine known as the Ghost Gunner. The new code allows the 1-foot-cubed tabletop machine—which uses a spinning bit to carve three-dimensional shapes with minute precision—to not only produce untraceable bodies of AR-15s but to carve out the aluminum frame of an M1911 handgun, the popular class of semiautomatic pistols that includes the Colt 45 and similar weapons. Wilson says he plans to follow up soon with software for producing regulation-free Glocks and other handgun models to follow.

Wilson's goal now, he says, is to do for small arms what Defense Distributed did for AR-15s when it first released the $1,500 Ghost Gunner milling machine exactly three years ago to the day: Give people the ability to make a lethal weapon at home with no regulation whatsoever.

M1911 pistol.

This story came out before the mass shooting in Las Vegas, on the third anniversary of the initial release of the Ghost Gunner, just in case you were wondering.

Also at Ars Technica:

"It's a certain type of person who builds and enjoys an AR-15—that's a lot of gun, and most people don't feel the need to have a big ol' battle rifle," Wilson says. "But we believe lots of people are interested in the conversation about an untraceable, concealable handgun. It's been on the roadmap the whole time for this project. It's just always been a question of how we get there, and it ended up being very, very difficult—kinda like the brass ring of the project, if you will."

Previously: FedEx Refuses to Ship Defense Distributed's Ghost Gunner CNC Mill
Man Who Used CNC Mill to Manufacture AR-15 "Lowers" Sentenced to 41 Months


Original Submission

Landmark Legal Shift for 3D-Printed Guns 92 comments

For those in the US with a combined interest in 3D-Printers, intersections of the 1st and 2nd Amendments, and legal precedents; Cody Wilson has been fighting the US Government for half a decade.

Short version: after Wilson uploaded his 3D pistol plans to his site, over 100,000 people downloaded it - this drew the attention of the US authorities, who tried to use the International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to force a take-down.

The authorities argued that by posting the 3D printer plans for a firearm, Mr. Wilson was effectively exporting firearms, and subject to federal regulation. Eventually the Department of Justice dropped the case, paving the way for DIY'ers to publish such things freely.

The article cites 'promises' made by DoJ to move the regulations to another department.

Wired's article: A Landmark Legal Shift Opens Pandora's Box for DIY Guns (archive)

Related: The $1,200 Machine That Lets Anyone Make a Metal Gun at Home
Japanese Gun Printer Goes to Jail
Suspected 3D-Printed Gun Parts and Plastic Knuckles Seized in Australia
FedEx Refuses to Ship Defense Distributed's Ghost Gunner CNC Mill
Man Who Used CNC Mill to Manufacture AR-15 "Lowers" Sentenced to 41 Months
Ghost Gunner Software Update Allows the Milling of an M1911 Handgun


Original Submission

3D-Printed Gun Activist Cody Wilson Charged With Sexual Assault, Misses Flight Back From Taiwan 132 comments

We had submissions from two Soylentils on this story.

3D-Printed Gun Activist Cody Wilson Charged With Sexual Assault, Misses Flight Back From Taiwan

3-D Printed Gun Promoter, Cody Wilson, Is Charged With Sexual Assault of Child (archive)

Cody Wilson, whose push to post blueprints for 3-D printed guns online has made him a key figure in the national gun control debate, was charged on Wednesday with sexually assaulting a child in Texas.

But law enforcement officers said they were having trouble finding Mr. Wilson, who missed a flight back to the United States from Taipei, Taiwan, his last known location. During a news conference on Wednesday, Cmdr. Troy Officer of the Austin Police Department said that a warrant had been filed for Mr. Wilson's arrest and that local detectives were working with national and international partners to find him.

Mr. Wilson, 30, is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl at a hotel in Austin on Aug. 15 and paying her $500 in cash, according to an affidavit filed in Travis County. The girl told the police that she had met Mr. Wilson through the website SugarDaddyMeet.com, where he was using the screen name "Sanjuro," the affidavit says.

[...] She and Mr. Wilson, who identified himself to the girl, exchanged phone numbers and then continued messaging each other, sharing at least one explicit photo apiece, according to the affidavit. During one conversation, Mr. Wilson described himself as a "big deal," the affidavit says.

[...] Neither Mr. Wilson nor his lawyer in the sexual assault case responded to a request for comment. The Austin police said a friend of the victim had told Mr. Wilson before he left for Taiwan that he was under investigation.

Taiwan does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

Looks like someone else will have to take on the job of defending file sharing in court.

Federal Judge Strikes Down DoJ's Deal with Defense Distributed 24 comments

Trump deal to share 3D-printed gun blueprints online ruled 'unlawful'

A federal judge has struck down a decision by the Trump administration to allow blueprints for 3D-printed guns to be shared online.

In a ruling published Tuesday, Judge Robert Lasnik said the deal made in July last year was "arbitrary and capricious" and thus a violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution.

The original deal was part of a settlement between the Justice Department and Texas-based nonprofit Defense Distributed, which garnered worldwide attention in 2013 with its claims to have created the world's first "100 percent 3D-printed gun." The dissemination of plans for the gun was blocked by the Obama administration, but last year Defense Distributed successfully sued the government and had the ban reversed, arguing that it was a free speech violation.

[...] Bloomberg notes that the decision may still have limitations, given that Defense Distributed worked around a previous, temporary ban on downloading plans by simply mailing blueprints directly to customers. Said [spokesperson Chad] Flores: "The speech these states want so badly to censor is already on the internet and always will be."

Also at Bloomberg, NYT, and CBS.

Previously: Landmark Legal Shift for 3D-Printed Guns
[Updated] Defense Distributed Releasing Gun Plans, President Trump "Looking Into" It
Federal Judge Imposes Preliminary Injunction Against Defense Distributed's DEFCAD


Original Submission

Federal Judge Imposes Preliminary Injunction Against Defense Distributed's DEFCAD 45 comments

Judge allows temporary ban on 3D-printed gun files to continue

A federal judge in Seattle has ruled against Defense Distributed, imposing a preliminary injunction requiring the company to keep its 3D-printed gun files offline for now.

US District Judge Robert Lasnik found in his Monday ruling that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed based on their argument that the Department of State, in allowing for a modification of federal export law, had unwittingly run afoul of a different law, the Administrative Procedure Act. In essence, the judge found that because the Department of State did not formally notify Congress when it modified the United States Munitions List, the previous legal settlement that Defense Distributed struck with the Department of State—which allowed publication of the files—is invalid.

As Ars has reported, Defense Distributed is the Texas-based company involved in a years-long lawsuit with the Department of State over publication of those files and making them available to foreigners. The company runs DEFCAD, perhaps the best-known online repository of gun files.

[...] Judge Lasnik's ruling today only briefly addressed the fact that the files are already available on numerous sites, including Github, The Pirate Bay, and more. These files have circulated online since their original publication back in 2013. (Recently, new mirrors of the files have begun to pop up.) "It is not clear how available the nine files are: the possibility that a cybernaut with a BitTorrent protocol will be able to find a file in the dark or remote recesses of the Internet does not make the posting to Defense Distributed's site harmless," he wrote.

Will legalnauts with gavels smack down this injunction?

Previously: Landmark Legal Shift for 3D-Printed Guns
[Updated] Defense Distributed Releasing Gun Plans, President Trump "Looking Into" It

Related: The $1,200 Machine That Lets Anyone Make a Metal Gun at Home
FedEx Refuses to Ship Defense Distributed's Ghost Gunner CNC Mill


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:13AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:13AM (#715570)

    Already spoke to NRA, doesn't seem to make much sense!" the president wrote

    This is because the conversation was in Russian!

    • (Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:21AM

      by Bot (3902) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:21AM (#715572) Journal

      I LOLed

      --
      Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 1, Troll) by ewk on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:33AM (2 children)

      by ewk (5923) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:33AM (#715574)

      Obvious... what else do you think members of a National Russian Association will speak? :-)

      --
      I don't always react, but when I do, I do it on SoylentNews
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:26PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:26PM (#715624)

        That's not a very nice nickname for FDR's Federal Recovery Administration. Apt though.

      • (Score: 2) by ewk on Saturday August 04 2018, @12:15PM

        by ewk (5923) on Saturday August 04 2018, @12:15PM (#717183)

        Really? Moderated as troll? Touchy...

        --
        I don't always react, but when I do, I do it on SoylentNews
    • (Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday August 01 2018, @04:00PM

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @04:00PM (#715752) Journal

      You're talking about Maria from Russia. Maria Butina. Who is GORGEOUS -- and very gun-adept, as you know. Believe me, there's no language barrier there. Because we let our tongues do the talking. Sexy lady!

  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:16AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:16AM (#715571)

    Do not put more than two notches on your downloaded 3-D printed plastic toy gun, or it may explode.

    • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:20AM

      by MostCynical (2589) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:20AM (#715579) Journal

      No, it just won't be able to load a supported version of android.
      It will still go bang the right way*

      *And they don't explode [youtube.com] as often now!

      --
      "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Bot on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:26AM (35 children)

    by Bot (3902) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:26AM (#715573) Journal

    I suggest you promote free and open hardware guns.
    What will happen if they get to destroy NRA's market is that NRA will not bother paying politicians anymore.
    In turn politicians will do what they naturally want to do, which is removing power from peons.
    So weapons will be banned AS YOU WANTED FROM THE BEGINNING.

    If this strategy seems to you overly cynical, I remind you that your immigration strategy to destroy and rebuild society is exactly the same.

    --
    Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:39AM (17 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:39AM (#715575)

      Well, that or the plastic gun buyers get slugged with ever greater carbon taxes until buying multiple use weapons become economically viable again, but that's a win for environmental policy as well.

      Hmm .. maybe plastic guns was why Mel Gibson had so much trouble finding petroleum products in the apocalypse ...

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:01PM (16 children)

        by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:01PM (#715606) Journal

        Defense Distributed is also working on printed metal guns. It's just not as feasible as plastic printing for most people.

        While a plastic gun might be able to make it through a metal detector (which may be an attractive quality to some), a printed metal gun wouldn't have a serial number, and you wouldn't have to be subject to a background check or put on some watchlist as you might from buying a normal gun.

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 5, Informative) by VLM on Wednesday August 01 2018, @01:19PM (3 children)

          by VLM (445) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @01:19PM (#715647)

          While a plastic gun might be able to make it through a metal detector (which may be an attractive quality to some)

          For a variety of complicated legal reasons "a gun" in the USA is legally the lower receiver, "the hand grip". So if you want to propagandize that you've made a completely plastic gun, thats pretty easy when the barrel is two pounds of steel pipe, the breech block bolt apparatus is a pound block of steel, etc. Since the invention of interchangeable mass produced parts a couple centuries ago its been a battle to define "Whats a gun".

          A pretty good SN automobile analogy is if I told you a piece of the dashboard with an engraved VIN number is legally a car. Which it is. Of course people talking about cars usually mean the whole 4000 pound thing, or have images in their head of engines and transmissions. In the propaganda sense of this story, YES I can 3-d print a Ferrari. What I'll do is 3-d print a plastic copy of the frame with an engraved copy of a real Ferrari's VIN number, then I'll legally register it and bolt the other 3999 pounds of aftermarket "not-a-car" unlicensed unregistered parts on to it, and ta da, I've 3-d printed a Ferrari.

          Likewise the other side is also lying in that a "semi-automatic assault rifle" is a misnomer, there are no non-automatic assault rifles. OR they're playing the propaganda game of redefining something we don't like as an assault rifle.

          Another "big lie" in the propaganda is there's been STL files of guns and gun parts floating around since consumer 3-d printing was "invented" a decade ago. This is kinda like how the internet existed for decades with millions of users before legacy media did its gatekeeper thing and decided it officially existed. Likewise I don't believe the stories about "plans already released" because there's been plans released in the 00s for 3-d printing. Most I've seen are pretty shitty handguns; make a crappy 1970s era homemade zip gun and epoxy it to a 3-d printed ergonomic handgrip. Its "printing a gun" in the same sense that hiring a general contractor means "I built a house" or my daughter bedazzling some glitter beads on some jeans from the store means she "made her own jeans".

          The final weirdness in the propaganda is where I live and given my (lack of a) criminal record, there's nothing wrong with my 3-d printing a gun; I can do it perfectly legally in a fully documented and government supported manner. I even have a safe to store it in once its made. I've never done it before, but its pretty easy to fully legally manufacture a firearm and people do it all the time, when doing custom gunsmithing and metalworking stuff. The insinuation in the propaganda is, of course, that its illegal to make a gun and only a criminal would ever want to, but in the real world away from Tumblr its merely gunsmithing metalworking business as usual, its just not a huge deal. I have made a boat, and those regulations also intersect state and federal law, and very hand wavy I'd say its much harder to legally make a motorboat than it is to legally make a gun if you want to follow all the laws and have all the paperwork you're supposed to have. That said, both tasks are not exactly difficult for above 90 IQ people, a couple forms here and there, some checks for fees/licenses here and there, the paperwork cost is a rounding error compared to the associated costs of the project.

          • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday August 01 2018, @04:59PM (2 children)

            by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @04:59PM (#715789)

            The car analogy is just silly. Everyone knows you wouldn't download a car. That's just common sense, right ?

            • (Score: 3, Funny) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:10PM

              by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:10PM (#715958)

              You wouldn't steal a handbag.

              You wouldn't steal a car.

              You wouldn't steal a baby.

              You wouldn't shoot a policeman. And then steal his helmet.

              You wouldn't go to the toilet in his helmet. And then send it to the policeman's grieving widow.

              And then steal it again!

              Downloading films is stealing. If you do it, you will face the consequences.

            • (Score: 2) by legont on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:31AM

              by legont (4179) on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:31AM (#716013)

              Well, not sure about cars, but one can definitely download (for a relatively small fee) plans for an airplane and build it. In fact I just came from Oshkosh where around 20,000 such "nuts" were present. That's builders mind you. Visitors counted at 600,000

              Making a lower receiver is a rather simple task compared to building of an airplane. Seeing 6 years old building basic airplane parts makes me think they could easily make guns as well.

              BTW, all the equipment necessary to make a real metal gun is available at maker space facilities including mobile maker buses https://www.makerbus.ca/ [makerbus.ca]

              --
              "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
        • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @07:02PM (11 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @07:02PM (#715854)

          idk why people keep acting like all guns had serials before this new danger was born. US citizens have always had the right to build their own firearms. this is just a new way to do that. tough shit, fuckheads.

          • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @07:11PM (10 children)

            by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @07:11PM (#715858) Journal

            I already covered that in another comment. Obviously, not all people have the skills or tools needed to build a gun. Printing one could be easier. They can pool money together with others to buy a 3D printer, and print other stuff with their 3D printer.

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            [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
            • (Score: 2) by legont on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:41AM (3 children)

              by legont (4179) on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:41AM (#716017)

              It would be more convenient and practical to rent a maker facility and cnc mill the lower receiver. They could off course buy a mill. They are in 5-10 grand range new and can be found under 1000 on garage sales.

              --
              "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
              • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:53AM (2 children)

                by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:53AM (#716023) Journal

                You bring up an interesting point. I assume by "maker facility" you mean "hackerspace" or such? They might specifically forbid making weapons in the contract you sign with them, or go completely bonkers if you do make one. I expect someone will try to do just that and an incident will make the news.

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                [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
                • (Score: 2) by legont on Thursday August 02 2018, @03:03AM (1 child)

                  by legont (4179) on Thursday August 02 2018, @03:03AM (#716051)

                  Well, I imagine a conservative community just buying a maker bus to educate their children. A few AK47 per night can be made easily from kits available over the Internet. The kits are usually a fully capable rifles with lower receivers cut in half. While I never tried it myself, I am pretty sure i can do it (and I have friends with cnc mills). It appears to be legal as well or though I did not research it either.

                  Regardless, I think it did not happen yet simply because it is currently easy to buy a gun. Once liberals achieve their goal of making it hard, the gun maker movement will explode and will never end after that because people will quickly discover the wonders of cheap custom designed instruments.

                  This is the main reason I personally against stricter gun regulations. The technology is out there already and can't be stopped. Regulations will just force people to use it sooner.

                  --
                  "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
                  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 02 2018, @07:54AM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 02 2018, @07:54AM (#716109)

                    Conservative communities don't need a bus. They have garages with tools and equipment. Their children already learn how to use those. Makerbuses are for city people who never learned to build a house, repair a vehicle, weld, or use power tools.

            • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday August 02 2018, @02:56AM (5 children)

              by mhajicek (51) on Thursday August 02 2018, @02:56AM (#716047)

              If you have an iq over 80 and $10 you can build a gun from plumbing pipe.

              --
              The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
              • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 02 2018, @04:24AM (4 children)

                by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Thursday August 02 2018, @04:24AM (#716068) Journal

                Do you have to have an IQ over 120 to make it safe and reliable?

                --
                [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 02 2018, @08:02AM (2 children)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 02 2018, @08:02AM (#716110)

                  There is no safe in guns. Period. Any gun can jam and blow up in your hand. Buy the best-rated steel tubing you can and you'll get /safer/, but it will never be /safe/. Zip guns are generally recomended as one-time use only, reliability isn't a concern. Hit the target, toss your pipe, burn your clothes, good to go.

                  • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday August 02 2018, @12:46PM (1 child)

                    by mhajicek (51) on Thursday August 02 2018, @12:46PM (#716173)

                    And any neural network can become Skynet and take over the world, right?

                    --
                    The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
                    • (Score: 2) by Bot on Thursday August 02 2018, @06:34PM

                      by Bot (3902) on Thursday August 02 2018, @06:34PM (#716379) Journal

                      Not if it is bootstrapped by systemd.

                      --
                      Account abandoned.
                • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday August 02 2018, @12:45PM

                  by mhajicek (51) on Thursday August 02 2018, @12:45PM (#716172)

                  No, just proof test it with a hot load, and anything less powerful will be safe. And a slam fire pipe gun is likely to be more reliable than a modern semi due to its dead simple design.

                  --
                  The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
    • (Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:30AM

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:30AM (#715585) Homepage Journal

      I don't think you quite know what the NRA actually is. You might want to change that situation.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:20AM (1 child)

      by krishnoid (1156) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:20AM (#715596)

      Even better, make them readily available to one minority group [youtube.com] or another.

      • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:21AM

        by krishnoid (1156) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:21AM (#715597)

        Whoops, more 'marginalized' than 'minority' (at least per the thrust of that clip). Maybe it doesn't really matter.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:05PM (13 children)

      by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:05PM (#715610) Journal

      I had similar thoughts to you, but it's a bit more complicated than that:

      https://archive.fo/cX1og [archive.fo]

      From a small-town pharmacist to a commercial pilot, it's not just gunmakers that are funding the National Rifle Association’s political battles.

      The organization's overall revenue, which includes membership dues, program fees and other contributions, has boomed in recent years – rising to nearly $350 million in 2013. The majority of this money funds NRA initiatives like member newsletters, sporting events and gun safety education and training programs.

      [...] A CNNMoney analysis of federal campaign finance records shows that much of this money comes from everyday Americans. And these contributions, which the NRA uses to keep pro-gun lawmakers in office, are on the rise.

      Some political funding comes from big corporations, many within the gun industry, which donate millions to the NRA. But companies are barred from donating to the NRA’s political action committee, which the agency uses to fill campaign coffers, run ads and send out mailers for and against candidates.

      So If NRA comes out strongly against printed weapons, they are really sticking it to a number of their members who I'm sure are not interested in any such restrictions. The only way I could see them justifying it is by making an appeal about the "safety" of the printed weapons (possibility of them causing injury to the user) despite the fact that this is really a First Amendment issue, safety be damned.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 0, Offtopic) by khallow on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:10PM (10 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:10PM (#715616) Journal

        So If NRA comes out strongly against printed weapons

        And of course, they don't have any reason to come out strongly against printed weapons.

        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:20PM (8 children)

          by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:20PM (#715622) Journal

          President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is "looking into" the availability of plans for the 3D printing of guns, writing on Twitter that he had already been in touch with the NRA on the issue.

          "I am looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public. Already spoke to NRA, doesn't seem to make much sense!" the president wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning.

          Remains to be seen. Very vague tweetage.

          And you can't think of a reason why a (partially) gun industry backed organization would want to ban printed weapons? I've already thought of 2.

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:29PM (4 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:29PM (#715625) Journal

            I've already thought of 2.

            Let's see those reasons.

            • (Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:42PM (3 children)

              by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:42PM (#715634) Journal

              Printed weapons are a challenge to gun industry profits (doesn't have to be true now or at any point in the future, they just have to cynically believe it might).

              Printed weapons are unsafe for their users (profitable meatbags who buy guns *and* donate to the org). The NRA says "firearm education and safety is paramount" [nra.org]. If they don't believe printed weapons can be used safely, they may be willing to look the other way while politicians put in place a "common sense (printed) gun control". Even though doing so would be short-sighted at best (and Cody Wilson made some pretty reliable printed guns IIRC).

              This has little to do with the gun industry specifically, but the NRA might support a printed gun ban simply because the tools undermine existing regulations and it's a battle they have little interest in fighting. It's not like the NRA doesn't support certain aspects of "gun control". [nraila.org]

              --
              [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
              • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:07PM (1 child)

                by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:07PM (#715795)

                We all know that "madman mows crowd with gun" helps to raise sales, but what happens to the bottom line when the headline is "printed gun blows up in user's face" ?
                Is the NRA going to seed bad plans on the web to cause mistrust? If yes, how good are they at scaring their potential customers away from printing without scaring them away from guns?

              • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:23AM

                by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:23AM (#716007) Journal

                Printed weapons are a challenge to gun industry profits (doesn't have to be true now or at any point in the future, they just have to cynically believe it might).

                That's a circular argument not a reason why they would "cynically believe it might".

                Printed weapons are unsafe for their users

                That's a typical problem with homemade weapons.

                If they don't believe printed weapons can be used safely

                "If".

                This has little to do with the gun industry specifically, but the NRA might support a printed gun ban simply because the tools undermine existing regulations and it's a battle they have little interest in fighting.

                The NRA has a more than 80 year history of such expediency (for example, supporting bans on silencers and sawed off shotguns) in order to get what they want (relatively low federal-level restrictions on firearm manufacture, ownership, and usage). But what's so dramatic about printed firearms that they'll get political capital for supporting a ban? It's already illegal to use plastic/X-ray transparent firearms, for example.

                And we still have the matter that it's not a reason to want to ban printed firearms, but rather any marginally useful technology that happens to be high FUD. 3-D printing neither has the necessary level of FUD nor in the long run, the marginal utility.

                The problem with banning printed weapons is first, that sooner or later such printing technology will see widespread application in firearm manufacture (not necessarily of critical high stress components like barrels or firing pins). Poorly designed regulations can inhibit firearm manufacturers and users from adopting state of the art technologies for normal firearm production. Second, as already noted, there's the First Amendment matter. One of the more loathsome federal-level regulations of the past twenty years, ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) was used to suppress mere distribution of a firearm design. This is a greater threat than any ban on firearm types because it sets a precedent on banning distribution of ideas about firearms, a far more intrusive restriction on firearm-related freedoms than the usual gun control regulation.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @06:15PM (2 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @06:15PM (#715837)

            I suppose you could count the advertising in their magazine, but that really isn't going to support a lobbying effort. Magazines are not all that profitable. (cost of paper, printing, mailing...)

            Fundamentally, the NRA is member-supported. Millions of people have joined.

            It's not evil corporations. It's not Russian collusion. There really are millions of ordinary Americans who love their 2nd amendment so much that they are willing to part with some money for it.

            • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @08:59PM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @08:59PM (#715905)

              > It's not evil corporations.

              dateline January 2013 [businessinsider.com]:

              Since 2005, the gun industry and its corporate allies have given between $20 million and $52.6 million to it through the NRA Ring of Freedom sponsor program. Donors include firearm companies like Midway USA, Springfield Armory Inc, Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems, and Beretta USA Corporation. Other supporters from the gun industry include Cabala's, Sturm Rugar & Co, and Smith & Wesson.

              The NRA also made $20.9 million — about 10 percent of its revenue — from selling advertising to industry companies marketing products in its many publications in 2010, according to the IRS Form 990.

              Additionally, some companies donate portions of sales directly to the NRA. Crimson Trace, which makes laser sights, donates 10 percent of each sale to the NRA. Taurus buys an NRA membership for everyone who buys one of their guns. Sturm Rugar gives $1 to the NRA for each gun sold, which amounts to millions. The NRA's revenues are intrinsically linked to the success of the gun business.

              The NRA Foundation also collects hundreds of thousands of dollars from the industry, which it then gives to local-level organizations for training and equipment purchases.

              dateline December 2012 [theatlantic.com]:

              In recent years, the group has become more aggressive about seeking donations, both from individuals and corporations, and that in turn has led it to become more deeply entwined with the gun industry. In 2010, it received $71 million in contributions, up from $46.3 million in 2004. Some of that money came from small-time donors, who've received a barrage of fundraising appeals warning of President Obama's imminent plot to gut the Second Amendment and confiscate Americans' firearms. But around 2005, the group began systematically reaching out to its richest members for bigger checks through its "Ring of Freedom" program, which also sought to corral corporate donors. Between then and 2011, the Violence Policy Center estimates that the firearms industry donated as much as $38.9 million to the NRA's coffers. The givers include 22 different gun makers, including famous names like Smith & Wesson, Beretta USA, SIGARMS, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. that also manufacture so-called assault weapons.

              Some of that funding has given the NRA a direct stake in gun and ammo sales. As Bloomberg noted in its January article, Sturm, Ruger & Co. launched a campaign to sell one million guns, and promised to donate $1 of each purchase to the group. Since 1992, MidWay USA, which retails gun supplies including ammo and controversial high-capacity magazines, has allowed its customers to round up each of their online and mail orders to the nearest dollar, and automatically donate the extra to the NRA. Together with other companies that have joined the effort, MidWay has helped collect more than $9 million for NRA. MidWay's owner, Larry Pottfield, also happens to be the the group's largest individual donor.

              > It's not Russian collusion.

              That's something the Department of Justice is investigating [mcclatchydc.com]. Do you have some information that they need to know? Will you share that with us?

              • (Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday August 02 2018, @03:00AM

                by Arik (4543) on Thursday August 02 2018, @03:00AM (#716049) Journal
                That pisses me off. Both Crimson Trace and Ruger make good equipment, I hate to have to boycott them.

                --
                If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
        • (Score: 5, Informative) by DannyB on Wednesday August 01 2018, @02:46PM

          by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 01 2018, @02:46PM (#715691) Journal

          NRA supporters are as deluded as Trump supporters.

          The NRA is not an organization about helping citizens to have firearms. It is a gun manufacturers trade association in disguise.

          Therefore the NRA will be AGAINST being able to 3D print your own firearm -- because it hurts firearm SALES. And that is the ONLY thing that NRA actually cares about. It's not about lives. It's not about rights. It's not about freedom. Or protecting onself or property. It's not about the 2nd amendment. It's only about sales.

          --
          There can be only one cable TV Network: USABCNNBCBSyFy
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by ilPapa on Wednesday August 01 2018, @06:02PM (1 child)

        by ilPapa (2366) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @06:02PM (#715826) Journal

        NRA stands for "Not Really American".

        Why should we care what an organization that has been co-opted by Russian intelligence thinks? I'm more concerned that the President of the United States believes he needs to talk to a lobbying group before he can make policy.

        --
        You are still welcome on my lawn.
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:24AM (10 children)

    by Arik (4543) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:24AM (#715583) Journal
    "After a years-long legal battle, Defense Distributed, a Texas-based group, has announced plans to release instructions on Wednesday for guns that can be created by a 3-D printer, including a handgun and parts for a semi-automatic assault rifle."

    A semi-automatic assault rifle, really?

    Well, one fine day in the middle of the night, when you're being peacefully assaulted by a pack of violent undead corpses, you're certainly going to want a semi-automatic assault rifle. And plenty of bullets, bullets are important. You just drop them down the barrel and then squeeze the trigger and say 'pew pew.' No, no, you don't need any powder or primer or casings man, just bullets.

    Seriously, whoever wrote this knows less about the subject than my 9 year old niece. Policy being driven by people who can't even begin to comprehend what they're talking about is never a good idea.
    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:35PM (9 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:35PM (#715631) Journal
      At least, they're not calling them "assault weapons".
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by Arik on Wednesday August 01 2018, @01:08PM (8 children)

        by Arik (4543) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @01:08PM (#715643) Journal
        I keep an assault spoon for self defense. It's got a razor blunt edge on it, very intimidating. Also I wrote "eyeball popper" on it in big block letters, so you can be sure it's a real assault spoon, not just a plastic spoon I got with a milkshake once. Anyhow, it's a great weapon, a devastating weapon, very good for assaults. Because every time I've been assaulted, I've pulled that assault spoon out, and they never want anymore once they see that. I've known more than one trucker to keep an assault bottle, similar idea, just a bottle of yellow liquid, labeled in block letters in some way suggestive of urine. Very intimidating, even if it is really just a cozy on a bottle of mountain dew.

        I think the concept has wide application. Lots of profits to be made in assault cars. Just paint em up, with tiger teeth on the front, or sharks or what have you, like they did in the 50s. And maybe black paint, or red, or maybe a fluorescent camouflage pattern, you know, something really garish and intimidating and military looking. Put a flag on it, and maybe 'kill a commie for mommy' underneath that. Then you'd have an assault car. Manufacturers could make big money off of them, everyone would hurry to buy one before they got outlawed. It would be good for the politicians too, lots of campaign contributions out there, from folks that are worried about assault cars in their neighborhood, to people worried about the gubmint coming for their assault cars, lots of contributions all around, good for everyone.
        --
        If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
        • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @01:16PM (1 child)

          by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @01:16PM (#715646) Journal

          I recommend assault spork.

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
          • (Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday August 01 2018, @01:40PM

            by Arik (4543) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @01:40PM (#715653) Journal
            Too merciful.
            --
            If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
        • (Score: 3, Funny) by Freeman on Wednesday August 01 2018, @03:38PM

          by Freeman (732) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @03:38PM (#715734) Journal

          Anyone else remember, Chronicles of Riddick and the Teacup? ;-)

          --
          Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:19PM

          by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:19PM (#715802)

          While I enjoyed the snark (have a point), you know that the evil lefties weren't exactly the first ones to associate the commercial versions with the military ones for propaganda. The marketing departments of the manufacturers have always been heavy on military imagery for their military-looking/inspired products. It's not "sex sells", it's "commando-looking-guys-brandishing-my-weapons-in-mock-assault sells".

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:04AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:04AM (#715997) Journal

          I think the concept has wide application. Lots of profits to be made in assault cars. Just paint em up, with tiger teeth on the front, or sharks or what have you, like they did in the 50s. And maybe black paint, or red, or maybe a fluorescent camouflage pattern, you know, something really garish and intimidating and military looking. Put a flag on it, and maybe 'kill a commie for mommy' underneath that. Then you'd have an assault car. Manufacturers could make big money off of them, everyone would hurry to buy one before they got outlawed. It would be good for the politicians too, lots of campaign contributions out there, from folks that are worried about assault cars in their neighborhood, to people worried about the gubmint coming for their assault cars, lots of contributions all around, good for everyone.

          In other words, we need more assault pork!

        • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday August 02 2018, @03:02AM (2 children)

          by mhajicek (51) on Thursday August 02 2018, @03:02AM (#716050)

          Why a spoon, cousin?

          --
          The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
          • (Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday August 02 2018, @05:04AM (1 child)

            by Arik (4543) on Thursday August 02 2018, @05:04AM (#716076) Journal
            Well I used to carry a spear or an axe. Also great 'assault weapons', as long as you paint em black and do some tacticool stuff with them of course, otherwise they're just plain 'weapons' and who wants that? But there are two problems; first off they're heavy, cumbersome, hard to carry around as you go through your daily life, shopping or flying on the airline you know, those things get to be a real pain to carry around.

            SO I was thinking about it, and I wanted something that was more intimidating, but easier to carry around. And I was thinking about this for days, might have been weeks even, I mean not 24/7 but it was in there percolating, and I went to this local place that makes the best milkshakes, really thick and tasty, and they have to give you a really long, strong spoon to get that milkshake out, and I looked at that I spoon, I mean eye-spoon, and it just suddenly fell into place.

            It's MUCH smaller than a winged spear, and it doesn't set off any metal detectors. And it's MUCH more intimidating too. I mean no one wants to get stabbed with a spear, that would smart a bit, but most of the injury would be deep tissue where you don't really feel it, and then shock sets in real quickly too, so it's really not all that far up the pain scale. (To compensate somewhat I'd normally try to aim it at the feet or other extremities at first but I digress.) The axe is really a step up because of that - axe wounds are a lot more painful, generally speaking. But can you even imagine how much pain would be involved in a dissection carried out using a spoon? I'd take the axe over that any day.
            --
            If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
            • (Score: 3, Touché) by mhajicek on Thursday August 02 2018, @12:50PM

              by mhajicek (51) on Thursday August 02 2018, @12:50PM (#716174)

              In other words, "Because it hurts more, you twit."

              --
              The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:36AM (13 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:36AM (#715586) Homepage Journal

    I ANAL, so could someone with actual training in this field fill me in on how prior restraint on speech is legally justified in this case? I thought that was normally something that got judges told "STFU noob" by appellate courts and SCOTUS. Did providing time for politicians to argue suddenly become a valid legal argument for ordering prior restraint?

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:50AM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:50AM (#715601)

      That's how.

      If you read civil law, case law, and the rules of the court, you'll find that adjudication has nothing to do with logic; at most, logic is treated as a form of rhetoric.

      • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:03PM (2 children)

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:03PM (#715607) Homepage Journal

        Believe it or not, that wasn't snark. I'd genuinely like someone with some credentials and experience in the field to flesh out my knowledge on the subject.

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:08PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:08PM (#715614)

          You've genuinely had someone with some credentials and experience in the field flesh out your knowledge on the subject.

          That's how shallow law is. I'm serious.

    • (Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Wednesday August 01 2018, @02:53PM (2 children)

      by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @02:53PM (#715696) Journal

      Since you've asked a serious question, I'll give a serious answer. I'm not a lawyer, but I follow a lot of law blogs, podcasts, etc. There's probably some more recent commentary out there, but this legal blog post [lawfareblog.com] gives a summary of the main arguments used in one of the court cases a couple years ago. I assume similar arguments are still being used, since the past rulings didn't clarify the merits.

      The arguments for restraint here are (in my opinion) pretty thin legally. Briefly, a few of them include:

      -- Computer instructions do not constitute "expressive speech"
      -- These guns are not a kind "in common use" (this is a stipulation based on old court rulings about why you don't get to own your own nuclear missile on 2nd amendment grounds)
      -- Various arguments based on how it can make gun trafficking worse and/or international concerns (we could be supporting terrorism!!)

      As I said, pretty weak. But enough to get a hearing or a temporary order from a willing judge.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday August 01 2018, @03:09PM (1 child)

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @03:09PM (#715710) Homepage Journal

        Honestly, I quite often ask serious questions. Just not terribly politely.

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @03:38PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @03:38PM (#715733)

          So far so good today, *hifive*

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:04PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:04PM (#715793)

      I ANAL,

      Oh! The telltale space! We know, TMB, we know.

    • (Score: 0, Troll) by jmorris on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:22PM (1 child)

      by jmorris (4844) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:22PM (#715805)

      There are so many previous rulings forbidding this sort of "prior restraint" that it is obvious they are simply being lawless. Think they realize this one is "game over" for gun control, not today, not tomorrow but pretty soon and they are flailing around trying to find a way to stop the inevitable march of Progress. And how does a judge in Seattle get the authority to govern a guy in Texas is another question best left unasked because the only answers would inspire one to get their "sporting goods" out.

      Quite simply they have gone mad since President Trump was elected. The #Resistance has made up a new rule that no act by this "illegitimate administration" shall have effect without the unanimous consent of the entire Federal Judiciary acting as one vast en banc appellate court to check the Executive. And so far President Trump had bent the knee and accepted this new unprecedented rule. The alternative will get messy but unless the Left decides to return to sanity the Constitutional Crisis is here and going to have to be faced sooner or later.

      Long term the options are all grim.

      1. The Enemy wins and a Hell on Earth ensues.
      2. Things muddle along until the contradictions cause a collapse. Everybody loses.
      3. We admit Progressives aren't American and remove them from any position of authority, from SCOTUS down to kindergarten teacher. This will certainly go "kinetic" since they will not accept this decision peacefully.

      Only the third option has the possibility of a future worth living in but the odds of attempting it triggering a collapse is high. Smart people realize this danger and refuse to take the chance. We need enough slightly smarter folk to realize there is no safe path left and act now because the odds of a successful counter revolution go down year by year. Trump has bought us a little time but like Coolidge and Reagan before him, this brief moment will not last.

      • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by aristarchus on Wednesday August 01 2018, @06:38PM

        by aristarchus (2645) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @06:38PM (#715845) Journal

        Your insanity is showing again, jmorris! Did you take your meds? Have you been to InfoWarts recently?

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:56AM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:56AM (#715604) Journal

    I don't really care too much about printed plastic or metal guns. But I damn well don't want to see the technology and the sharing of digital plans/blueprints/instructions/code restricted.

    What are these looming restrictions really for? People have been able to make their own guns for a long time, it was just harder. And as long as they don't sell them or use them to commit a crime, it's unlikely anybody would notice or care. What's the big idea of this restraining order preventing people from sharing blueprints? It's no different than a ban on distributing open source software. And we can easily tell what will be restricted next if this isn't stopped. The government will ban chemical printers and the instructions needed to print drugs. We could see a ban on sharing certain genetic sequences or genomes because somebody could be making a scary bioweapon. And we could see a ban on any kind of hardware or software work that could result in the creation of a strong AI, because only government should be allowed to create Skynet. Finally, the only thing that would make these bans airtight would be a far greater amount of surveillance and hardware backdoors than we have today. Maybe they should ban computers that don't have a Management Engine while they're at it.

    The value of the Defense Distributed troll (in the best sense) Cody Wilson is that he will test the limits of the Constitution. He shouldn't have to jump through hoops, but maybe he can force a Supreme Court ruling in favor of sharing digital plans. But the CNN story indicates the plans already leaked/were shared via other sites (they seemed to be user uploaded anyway). clearly the ban was going to be ineffective. DEFCAD was just an interesting centralized (potential) hub for them. If you really want to share something and stick it to the U.S. politicians, you can throw it up on BitTorrent, or just host it outside of the U.S. [soylentnews.org] Such as in an eeevil country like Russia, or another country in their sphere of influence that doesn't give a fuck. Case in point: Sci-Hub / Library Genesis. If Russia eventually ditches Putin and normalizes relations with the West, an ironic "bastion of freedom" could be suppressed as Hollywood, science publishers, et al. regain control of the situation.

    A vague Trump Tweet is not much to go on, but it looks like the NRA opposes DEFCAD. Very illuminating. Let's see the breakdown on whether NRA members support or oppose restricting a freedom to share gun designs, simply because some of the big NRA gun industry donors *might* lose some amount of future profits. Keep in mind that a printed weapon remains a niche thing and could break apart while you're shooting it.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 01 2018, @02:05PM (1 child)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 01 2018, @02:05PM (#715664) Journal

    That means he wants to buy some?

    I may look into them as well. But, I don't think they are ready for prime time. Best to rely on old shootin' irons for your mass shootings for now!

    --
    “I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday August 01 2018, @08:15PM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @08:15PM (#715889)

      I wouldn't recommend looking into them. But if he's looking into these guns himself, where is the Secret Service's responsibility on this? They have to take it out of his hands, right?

  • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday August 01 2018, @04:37PM

    by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @04:37PM (#715779) Journal

    Because I'm sure he actually did talk to the NRA, and because Trump never makes sense. In fact, Trump is the definition of anti-sense.

    --
    This sig for rent.
  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:27PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @10:27PM (#715943)

    Free speech is a right. You dont have to 'make sense' or justify it.

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